6 Tips to Mobilizing Brand Super Fans

Jim WilliamsInfluitive

Fred BalsEktron

I’m not really Fred

I’m definitely

Jim

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HOUSEKEEPING

How to participate

Tweet with #superfans to win a Starbucks gift card!

The Big 6 Tips

1. Why advocacy is an essential part of marketing in 2013

2. How to identify and engage your best advocates

3. How to mobilize your advocates with activities they will embrace

4. Reward or recognition - What motivates super fans?

5. Identifying ownership for your advocate marketing program

6. How to measure results and secure executive buy-in.

Fred Bals: Customer Advocacy Manager at

Enterprise Content Management

Digital Experience Software

#superfans

• Founded in 1998

• Headquarters in Nashua, NH

- Worldwide offices in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom

• 200+ Employees

• Over 3,800 customers and 12,000 sites

MISSION: Empower marketers to connect content to revenue through best-in-class solutions for WCM and DXM

WEB CONTENT MANAGEMENT

Create, deploy, and manage enterprise-scale, global, dynamic websites.

DIGITAL EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENTPersonalize, analyze, and optimize content deliveryto digital channels – web, mobile, and social.

About Ektron

1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 -

3,000

6,000

9,000

12,000

Sites Companies

LEADING COMPANIES AND ANALYSTS AGREE…

• A community for Ektron fans followers

• Influence Ektron through participation in surveys and questions

• Recognition from Ektron through perks and special programs

• Join today!

• http://www.ektron.com/Community/Nominate/

• Fred.bals@ektron.com

Ektron Inner Circle

Program

#superfans

Advocate Marketing Experts

Influitive helps B2B marketers recruit, mobilize and recognize an army of advocates that outsell their best sales reps.

• Founded in 2010 • HQ in Toronto, San

Francisco• Private, VC backed,

>$11M raised

Tip: #1 Start paying attention to advocacy today

“…their top priority is to enhance customer loyalty and encourage satisfied customers to advocate their brands.1”1. IBM Global CMO Study, 2011

You’re Not in Control of the Buying Process

Reliance on knowledgeable peer references has more than doubled in the past 5 years

75%of the buying process is complete before a B2B prospect contacts a company

Reference process is considered a “fire drill” in over 80% of companies surveyed.

2X

4/5

Buyers don’t trust corporate marketing and sales

Marketing

Peers & users

Ads, ads & more ads

Tip #2 How to identify and engage

advocates

#superfans

All companies have Champions.The trick is to organize and acknowledge them.

Tip #2 Redux How to engage advocates

#superfans

Invite customers, partners,

employees

Mobilize them to complete

‘challenges’

Recognize their

achievements

The Inner Circle helps Ektron recruit, manage, and acknowledge its

advocates

“I could not do my job without the Inner Circle” #superfans

"Our first job in marketing is to help empower our fans to bring others on-board. That's what makes us grow.“

~ Ken Gullicksen, Evernote COO

OUR GOALS

• Nurture our advocates

• Grow our relationships with them

• Learn from them

• Broadcast their advocacy of Ektron to our markets

Who are Ektron’s advocates?

Customers – Developers, Designers, Content Authors, Administrators, Marketing and other roles

Partners – Developers, Sales, Marketing and other roles

Employees – Everyone at Ektron

Tip #3 How to Mobilize Your Advocates

#superfans

THE OBJECTIVE:Ektron’s annual SYNERGY Customer Conference: We needed to make it more Customer-Centric

CHALLENGE: VIDEOS Crowd-source the “I am Ektron” customer videos to be shown at the opening keynote.

No Recruiting!

Videos collected on the spot.

40 “I am Ektron”Videos Collected.

#superfans

CHALLENGE: FUN Mobilize attendees to build “one great song” for keynote breaks.

“…One of the most popular challenges we’ve ever

done.”

#superfans

CHALLENGE: AWARDS Generate huge increase in customer submissions for “Site of the Year” award.

50 Submissions500% Increase in nominations

CHALLENGE: TESTIMONIALS Video interviews.

Hours of footage

Dozens of interviews

#superfans

• Over 200 reference contacts coordinated through EIC

• 50+ nominations for 2012 Site of the Year

• 73 sign-ups to participate in Beta Programs

• Feedback on Aloha Editor, eSync, Ektron Support

• 247 Tweets, 25 LinkedIn recommendations, Dozens of survey responses, testimonials, quotes, etc.

EIC in Action

#superfans

#superfans

Tip #4: How to motivate Superfans

Hint: It’s not about rewards

Capital not Cash

We See You We’re Listening to You We’re Behind You

10 ways to love your advocates back

1. Guest blogging opps2. Media interviews3. Invitations to executive retreats4. Invitations to industry

conferences 5. Special status at user

conferences6. Participation in product sprints7. Job recommendations8. Social media love9. Introductions & connections10. Linked-in skills &

recommendations

Tip #5 Start with an owner, but it

takes a village

Getting Everyone Involved

GOALS

• Create a stronger connection between internal teams and external brand advocates to help drive success.

• Create goals for departments so they participate, contribute and create challenges.

• Drive revenue to demonstrate program’s worth to management

Product Mgt.Engineering

Support

Sales &

Marketing

Other

FeedbackDesired Product Features

What’s Working

ReferencesReferrals

Participation in Marketing Activities

?

Tip #4: measuring your advocate marketing program

Three factors ROA:1. Revenue impact2. Cost deflection3. Earned media

(eyeballs & traffic)

#superfans

Retweets, likes, shares

Revenue

Cost DeflectionTraffic

Referrals

Product reviews

Blog comments

R.O.A. MapReferences

Media interviews

Customer surveys

Analyst interviews

Beta programs

Fred Balsfred.bals@ektron.com@fredatektron

Jim Williamsjim@influitive.com

#superfans